Arab States Condemn Huckabee Remark That Israel Taking Region ‘Would Be Fine’

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who told commentator Tucker Carlson it “would be fine if they took it all” when asked whether Israel could claim the land between the Euphrates and the Nile, Al Jazeera and Ynetnews reported on Saturday.

The interview was released on Friday, Feb. 20. Carlson asked whether the modern state of Israel could claim the land that the Bible says God promised to Abraham’s descendants. Huckabee said the territory stretches from the Euphrates, in Iraq, to the Nile, in Egypt. Al Jazeera said that would include modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and parts of Saudi Arabia. Middle East Eye, which also covered the exchange, said it would span five countries as well as the occupied Palestinian territories.

Huckabee then qualified the comment. He called it “somewhat of a hyperbolic statement,” according to Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye and Türkiye Today. He said Israel is not looking to expand and wants to protect its people, and he added that if Israel’s neighbors attacked and Israel won a war, whatever followed would be “a whole other discussion,” in the words of Middle East Eye and Türkiye Today.

Arab governments and regional bodies responded Saturday. Al Jazeera reported that Egypt’s foreign ministry called the remarks a “blatant violation” of international law and said Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or other Arab lands; Ynetnews reported the same position from Cairo. Jordan’s foreign ministry described the comments as an infringement on the sovereignty of regional states, according to both outlets. Al Jazeera quoted Jordan as calling them “absurd and provocative.”

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry also condemned the remarks. Ynetnews reported that Riyadh called them dangerous and a breach of international law, the U.N. Charter and diplomatic norms, and restated its support for a two-state solution. The League of Arab States called the statements extremist, and Al Jazeera said they stoke religious and national feelings; Ynetnews said the league added that the comments do not reflect official U.S. policy. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation issued its own condemnation, both outlets reported.

Ynetnews noted that Huckabee’s remark appeared to contradict President Trump’s stated opposition to annexing the West Bank, and that neither the Israeli government nor the administration had responded immediately.

Middle East Eye linked the exchange to the “Greater Israel” idea, which it said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials have promoted; Al Jazeera likewise said Netanyahu has openly promoted the concept. Türkiye Today quoted a settler leader as saying in 2024 that the real borders of Greater Israel are the Euphrates and the Nile.

Huckabee defended evangelical theology during the conversation, saying no single church should speak for all Christians, according to Türkiye Today. The same outlet quoted him describing the Jewish people as “a people, a place, and a purpose.”